Russell ArmstrongFamily WILL Watch "RHBH"To Protect His Image

9/5/2011 1:15 PM PDT

Russell Armstrong's family is watching tonight's "Real Housewives of Beverly HIlls" season premiere with extremely critical eyes -- and is prepared to take legal action ... depending on what they see.

Ron Richards, the attorney representing Russell's parents ... tells TMZ, the family wants to make sure nothing that "would make Russell look bad" airs in the highly anticipated premiere episode.

TMZ broke the story ... shortly before his death, Russell told a friend he was concerned about his negative portrayal on the show. Bravo has said it was doing some re-editing due to Russell's death ... but didn't specifically mention the premiere episode.

Richards says the family will explore legal options if they see something they don't like tonight.